Egypt court sentences ex-president Mohamed Morsi to death

An Egypt court has sentenced former President Mohamed Morsi to death for a mass prison break in 2011.

The court ruled on Saturday that the sentencing of Morsi and 105 others will be referred to the Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in Egypt, for confirmation.

Many of those sentenced were tried in absentia, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Islamic scholar based in Qatar.

The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2.

Morsi, who was overthrown by the army in 2013 amid mass protests against his government, was spared the death sentence in the first of two trials that concluded on Thursday, in which the court advised death sentences for 16 defendants on espionage charges.